Lighting fixture



April 28, 1942. A. L. ARENBERG LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed Feb. 15, 1937 Patented Apr. 28, 1942 LIGHTING FIXTURE Albert L. 'Arenberg, Highland Park, Ill., assignor to Patent License Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application February 15, 1937, Serial No. 125,716

1 Claim. (01. 240-735) The present invention is concerned with lighting fixtures of the type used along the ceilings of railwaycars and other vehicles.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved fixture in which a row of bulbs arranged along a ventilating opening at the center of the ceiling of a car is screened from the vision of the passengers by a unique bafile structure which redirects the light from the bulbs to the ceiling and at the same time distributes conditioned air entering through the opening.

This improved fixture is characterized by a horizontal baliie strip of laterally tapering cross section which is centered beneath the bulbs and Q is formed in two horizontally separated sections,

with the opening between the sections located directly below the bulbs. The fixture .also includes another horizontal bafile strip which is quite a bit narrower than the sections of the upper strip and is centered beneath the opening in the latter in vertically spaced relation thereto. The spacing of the bulbs, the curvature of the reflecting surfaces of the baflle strips, and the size and arrangement of the strips are all so related as to produce an even light on the ceiling, without glare.

Other more specific objects and advantages of the invention willbe evident to those skilled in the art upon a full understanding of the construction, arrangement and function of the parts entering into the complete fixture.

One form of the invention is presented herein by way of illustration, but it will of course be appreciated that the invention may be embodied in other structurally modified forms coming equally within the scope of the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view through the upper portion of a railway car, showing the new fixture, and the cut-off and reflecting angles provided by the same;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through the fixture and ceiling;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through the ceiling, looking toward-one side of the fixture; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section through one edge of the fixture, showing an upstanding bafile strip added to the edge as an alternative construction.

The fixture shown in the drawing is adapted to be applied to the ceiling ll) of a railway car or other vehicle beneath a row of bulbs H positioned at regular intervals along a ventilation opening I! formed in the ceiling. The opening laterally the air which l2 communicates with a space l3 above the ceiling, which space constitutes a conduit in the air-conditioning system of the car.

The fixture is characterized by a wide baflle strip H which is composed of two laterally separated sections l5, and a narrow bafiie strip l6 which is positioned beneath the opening I! be-' hollow construction. Its lower surface 2| is convex, while its upper surface 22, which is finished as a refiecton'slopes downwardly in opposite directions from the center, the surface 22 being somewhat concave between the center and edges of the strip.

The bafile strips l4 and I 6 are supported at regular intervals from suspension bracket 23. The sections l5 of the baflie strip H are attached by screws 24 to laterally extending wing-like arms 25 on the brackets, while the baiile strip I6 is attached by bolts 26 to downwardly projecting formations 21 at the centers of the brackets.

The upper baflie strip I4 i so arranged and proportioned with respect to the ceiling l0 and bulbs II as to cut off all direct rays from the bulbs above the heads of the passengers in the car, and the reflecting surfaces IQ of the upper bafile strip are so disposed with respect to those elements as to reflect certain of the rays back onto th ceiling, providing an even distribution of light from one side of the ceiling to the other.

without glare, all as indicated schematically with out the formation of any objectionable drafts.

The lower baifle strip It produces a lateral spread of light rays, by reflection, against the under sides of the laterally projecting sections of the upper baflle strip, softly illuminating the latter. This lower bafile strip also functions as a secondary distributor head for the air, deflecting through the opening l1 presentbetween th two sections of the upper baflle strip.

passes downwardly In Fig. 4 an upstanding flange 28 is shown attached to one of the side edges of the upper'baffle strip 14. Supplemental flanges of this character may be used to advantage in those installations wherein either the width of the upper baflie strip or its spacin from the bulbs is such as to bring portions of the bulbs within the vision of some of the passengers.

While th opening 42 in the ceiling has been represented throughout this descriptionas the inlet for the conditioned air, it will of course be appreciated that the inlet may assume any one of a great variety of forms, depending upon the structure of the ceiling and the general design of the car.

As will be noted in Fig. 1, the outer side edges of the fixture are preferably so located with respect to the ceiling and bulbs as to cause the direct ray cut-ofi lines 29 to fall at ordinarily concealed points about even with the rear edges of the luggage racks 30, which location of whatever shadows may be cast by the edges of the fixture effectively eliminates any'suggestion of shadowing on the side walls. Th reading areas about the seats 31 may advantageously be illuminated by supplemental lighting units 32 of 2,2eo,asi

any suitable construction built into the under sides of the luggage racks along the edges thereof.

I claim:

In combination with the ceiling structure of a passenger vehicle, a plurality of spaced parallel channels extending longitudinally of said ceiling defining a central recessed ventilating duct, a row of lights mounted in said ventilating duct, a

lighting fixture and air 'baiiie below said duct, I

said fixture comprising three baiile strips, two of which are identical with each other in siz and shape and are arranged symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the fixture in laterally separated relation to each other, with the gap between the same centered directly below the bulbs, and the third of which battle strips is spaced below the first two baille strips directly under the gap, with the outer edges of the third strip lapping the inner edges of the first two strips far enough to cut oil any direct rays from the bulbs, and brackets of inverted T-shap positioned at intervals along the baflle strips in vertical transverse planes between certain of the bulbs for supporting the fixture. V

- ALBERT L. ARENBERG. 

